Combination anchor and support utilized to secure a mobile home to an underlying foundation

ABSTRACT

A combination anchor and support which is utilized to secure a mobile home to an underlying foundation and which includes a housing having a base anchored to the underlying foundation and a top wall spaced from the base. The top wall of the housing has an internally threaded opening therein which receives in threaded engagement an adjustment bolt having a head. The bolt can be rotated so as to cause its longitudinal movement relative to the housing and a variation in the spacing between its head and the top wall of the housing. A mounting plate, which is attached to the mobile home, is carried by the head of the bolt in such a manner as to permit rotation of the bolt relative to the plate.

United States Patent Tkach 1 1 Jan. 30, 1973 1541 COMBINATION ANCHOR AND3,311,333 3 1967 Gallaway ..52 29s x SUPPORT UTILIZED o SECURE A3,606,231 9/1971 Kilborn ..248/354 5 2,519,364 8/1950 Fredholm...248/352 UX To AN UNDERLYING 1,714,298 5/1929 Davidson ..248/357 176]Inventor: George Tkach, 15314 Harrison Primary Elaminerwllliam SchultzRoad, P.O. BOX 96, Mishawaka, 1nd. A1wmey0lISh & Knoblock 46544 5ABSTRACT 7 [22] Filed: April 16, 1971 l l A combination anchor andsupport which is utilized to l l PP N05 134,585 secure a mobile home toan underlying foundation and which includes a housing having a baseanchored to 52 us. c1. ..51/111, 52/126, 52/296, the underlyingfoundation and P Spaced from 248/352 248/354 5 248/357 the base. The topwall of the housing has an internally 1511 1m (:1 .i ..E1i4 25/04hreadcd oPening them" which receives in threaded [58] Field of Search.243/352 354 s 357 119- engagement adlustmem having a head- The 52/296297 298 H] Hamil/2:98 bolt can be rotated so as to cause itslongitudinal A R 3 movement relative to the housing and a variation inthe spacing between its head and the top wall of the housing. A mountingplate, which is attached to the [56] References Cited mobile home, iscarried by the head of the bolt in such UNITED STATES PATENTS a manneras to permit rotation of the bolt relative to the plate. 2,570,28210/1951 Speck et al. ..248/354 S 1,283,795 11/1918 Kelley ..254/133 R 3Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 841x17 38 42 44 4.0 ll' 40 33% L7 46 11 11 211PATENTEDJAI30 I973 3,713,259

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ATTORNEYS COMBINATION ANCHOR AND SUPPORT UTILIZED TO SECURE A MOBILEHOME TO AN UNDERLYING FOUNDATION SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to a combination anchor and support utilized to secure a mobilehome or similar structure to an underlying foundation.

This invention includes a housing having a base and a top wall spacedfrom the base. The housing base includes means for securing the housingto a foundation underlying the mobile home. The top wall of the housinghas an internally threaded opening therein through which an adjustmentbolt is threaded. The bolt is generally vertically oriented and includesa head which is located above the housing top wall and which carries amounting plate. The bolt is provided with means by which it can berotated within the housing top wall opening so as to cause itslongitudinal movement relative to the housing and a resulting variationin spacing between the bolt head and the top wall of the housing. Themounting plate is secured to the head of the bolt by means which permitsrotation of the bolt relative to the mounting plate. Suitable anchoringmeans is provided for attaching the mounting plate to the mobile home.

When locating a mobile home at its home site, it is the preferredpractice to provide supports for the home which rest upon an underlyingfoundation and which permit the wheels of the home to be removed or atleast relieved from bearing the weight of the home. Such supportsgenerally constitute concrete blocks which rest upon firm earthen orconcrete slab foundations. These blocks may either make direct contactwith underlying frame members of the mobile home or, as illustrated inU. S. Pats. NOs. 3,380,205 and 3,022,980, carry adjustable screw meanswhich contact the mobile home frame members. Experience has shown thatthe concrete block supports have a tendency to shift due to settling ofthe foundation on which the blocks are set and to deteriorate and crackdue to their exposure to the weather. The anchor and support device ofthis invention can be connected between a concrete support embeddedwithin the ground and the frame of the mobile home in such a manner soas to permit leveling of the home, even after any subsequent settling ofground which carries the concrete support, and to firmly anchor the homeagainst high winds, thus preventing the mobile home from being damagedby ground settlementor by tipping over.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a support fora mobile home at its home site which enables the home to be leveled,thus accommodating settling of the underlying foundation for the home.

Another object of this invention is to provide a combination support andanchoring device for a mobile home at its home site which can be securedto the underlying foundation for the home and which serves to anchor thehome against high winds during storms and other similar elements ofnature.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a combined anchorand support means which is utilized for securing a mobile home to anunderlying foundation and which is of economical construction and ofsimple and easy installation and operation.

Other objects of this invention will become apparent upon a reading ofthe inventions description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of thisinvention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and descriptionwherein:

FIG. I is a perspective view of the anchor and support device.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the anchor and support device ofFIG. 1 shown attached to a channel member of a mobile home frame andanchored to a concrete support embedded in the earthen foundationunderlying the mobile home.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the anchor andsupport device of FIG. 1 shown attached to an I-beam which constitutes apart of the frame of another type of mobile home.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The preferred embodiment is notintended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise formdisclosed. It is chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its application and practical use tothereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.

The illustrated embodiment of the anchor and support device of thisinvention includes a housing 10 having a cylindrical side wall 12 ontowhich is welded or similarly secured a base plate 14 and a top wall 16.Top wall 16 of the housing includes a boss 18 which is preferablylocated on the center axis of the housing. An internally threadedopening 20 is formed in boss 18 and extends through top wall 16. In someconstructions of this invention boss 18 may constitute a nut which ispositioned over an unthreaded opening formed in a side wall-supportedplate and which is welded to the plate. The plate and attached nut willform top wall 16 with the threaded opening of the nut being smaller thanand aligned with the unthreaded opening in the plate.

An adjustment bolt 22 is threadedly connected to housing 10 by havingits shank 24 turned into opening 20 in top wall 16. Bolt 22 includes anenlarged head 26 which is positioned above top wall 16 of the housing. Agenerally horizontal mounting plate 28 is carried by bolt head 26.Mounting plate 28 extends across bolt head 26 with the top of the bolthead normally abutting lower face 29 of the plate. A cup-shaped retainer30 is welded or otherwise secured to lower plate face 29 and enclosesbolt head 26 which fits with slight clearance within retainer 30. Shank24 of the bolt extends with clearance through an opening 31 in thebottom wall of retainer 30. In some constructions of thisinvention,retainer 30 may be U-shaped instead of cup-shaped. A transverse bore 32extends through shank 24 of the bolt adjacently below retainer 30. Bore32 is provided so as to enable a rod or similar pivotal means to beinserted through the bolt shank and swung about the axis of the bolt,thus causing rotation of the bolt relative to housing 10 and a raisingand lowering of mounting plate 28.

A pair of angle irons 34 is provided to secure the mobile home tomounting plate 28. Referring to FIG. 2, mounting plate 28 is shownattached to a channel member 38 which constitutes a part of the frame ofmobile home 36. Angle irons 34 are positioned on 0pposite sides ofchannel member 38 with the vertical flange parts or legs of the angleirons confronting the sides of the channel member and the horizontalflange parts or legs of the angle irons being secured to the upper face33 of mounting plate 28 by bolts 40 which extend through registeringapertures 39 and 41 in the angle irons and the mounting platerespectively. One or more bolts 42 extend through registering aperturesin the sides of channel member 38 and apertures 44 in the angle irons.Bolts 40 and 42 are secured in position by suitable nuts 46.

Base plate 14 of housing rests upon a concrete footing or support 48embedded in soil 50 of the foundation which underlies the mobile home. Aplurality of L-bolts 52 or similar anchoring means are embedded withinconcrete support 48 and have their threaded end portions protrudingupwardly through openings 56 in housing base plate 14. Nuts 58 arethreaded onto the protruding end portions 54 of bolts 52 and turned downagainst the upper face of base plate 14 so as to anchor housing 10 tosupport 48.

There will be two or more, depending on the size and construction of themobile home, anchor and support devices of this invention spacedlypositioned along each side of the home. The pouring of the concretesupports and the subsequent connection of the anchor and support devicesbetween the concrete supports and the mobile home can be accomplishedwhile the home is temporarily supported upon jacks. Once all the anchorand support devices have been attached to the mobile home and anchoredto their respective concrete supports, the temporary jacks can beremoved with the mobile home load being transferred to the anchor andsupport devices. By inserting a turning bar through bore 32 in eachadjustment bolt 22 and thereafter turning each adjustment bolt, thesupported mobile home can be initially leveled and, if necessary, laterreleveled to accommodate any settling of concrete supports 48. Head 26of each adjustment bolt 22 fits with sufficient clearance withinretainer 30 carried by supported mounting plate 28 so as to permit thehead to rotate within the retainer as the adjustment bolt is turned.Additionally, the clearance of bolt head 26 within its retainer 30 alsoallows for angular movement between the mounting plate and adjustmentbolt 22 to prevent binding between the bolt and mounting plate duringleveling of the mobile home and to allow for the usual installation ofthe anchor and support device in which the adjustment bolt will not belocated truly vertically.

In FIG. 3, the anchor and support device of FIG. .1 is shown secured tothe base flange 59 of an l-beam 60 which constitutes part of anothertype of a mobile home frame. In securing l-beam 60 to mounting plate 28,base flange 59 of the beam abuts the upper face 33 of the mounting platewith angle irons 34 positioned with their horizontal legs overlyingopposite margins of base flange 59 and with their vertical legsextending preferably downwardly and over the side edges of the mountingplate. Bolts 40 extend through registering apertures 39 and 41 in theangle irons and mounting plate and serve in association with nuts 46 tosecure each angle iron to the mounting plate with base flange 59 of thel-beam being clamped therebetween as illustrated.

Each concrete support 48, to which housing 10 of an anchor and supportdevice is attached, may extend a foot or more into the underlying groundfoundation depending upon its soil consistency, and, if necessary, canbe strengthened by suitable reinforcing rods. The anchor bolts 52 whichserve to secure housing 10 to its concrete support should be ofsufficient size and embedded sufficiently far into the support so as toprevent the housing from being torn from the support when the mobilehome is subjected to high winds.

Leveling of the mobile home is accomplished without detaching themounting plates 28 of the anchor and support devices from the frame ofthe home due to relative movement between the mounting plates and boltheads 26 as the bolts 22 are turned. Thus, the mobile home can beprecisely leveled by finite adjustments of bolts 22. Also, in using theanchor and support devices, the concrete supports 48 may be pre-pouredat the mobile home site before the mobile home is moved onto the site.The home is then positioned over the concrete supports and the anchorand support devices secured between the home and pre-poured supports.

it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to thedetails herein given but may be modified within the scope of theappended claims.

What I claim is:

l. A combination anchor and support for securing a mobile home orsimilar structure to an underlying foundation comprising a housinghaving a base and a top wall spaced from said base, said base includingmeans for attaching said housing to said foundation, said housing topwall having an internally threaded opening therein, an adjustment bolthaving a head and threaded shank, said bolt and housing being connectedby having said bolt shank threaded into said top wall opening with saidbolt head located above said housing top wall, said bolt including meanswherein the bolt can be rotated relative to said housing for causinglongitudinal move ment of said bolt and a variation in spacing betweensaid bolt head and said housing top wall, mounting means carried by saidbolt head, means associated with said bolt head and mounting meansconnecting said mounting means to said boltand permitting rotation ofsaid bolt relative to said mounting means, and anchoring means forconnecting said mounting means to said mobile home, said mounting meansbeing a plate which rests upon the head of said bolt when said anchorand support carries the weight of said mobile home, said means forconnecting said mounting means to said bolt including a retainer havinga bottom wall with an opening therein through which said bolt shankextends with clearance and upwardly extending opposed side wall partsjoined to the lower face of said plate and spaced apart a greaterdistance than the maximum transverse dimension of said bolt head, saidbolt head located between said retainer side wall parts with the spacingbetween said retainer bottom wall and said plate lower face exceedingthe maximum thickness of said bolt head as measured between the boltshank and top of the bolt head.

2. A combination anchor and support securing a mobile home or similarstructure to an underlying foundation comprising a housing having a baseand a top wall spaced from said base, said underlying foundationconstituting soil, a footing disposed within said soil and includinganchor parts, said housing base resting upon said footing with saidanchor parts engaging said base and connecting said housing to saidfooting, said housing top wall having an internally threaded openingtherein, an adjustment bolt having a head and a threaded shank, saidbolt having its shank threaded into said housing top wall opening, saidbolt head located above said housing top wall, said bolt including meanswherein said bolt can be rotated within said housing top wall opening tocause longitudinal movement of the bolt relative to the housing and aresulting variation in spacing between said bolt head and said housingtop wall, a mounting plate carried by said bolt head, means associatedwith said bolt head and mounting plate connecting said plate to saidbolt and permitting rotation of said bolt relative to said plate, saidmobile home including a frame member, said frame member resting uponsaid mounting plate, and means securing said frame member to saidmounting plate, said mounting plate resting upon the head of said bolt,said means for connecting said mounting plate to said bolt including aretainer having a bottom wall with an opening therein through which saidbolt shank extends with clearance and upwardly extending opposed sidewall parts spaced apart a greater distance than the maximum transversedimension of said bolt head, said bolt head located between said sidewall parts, said side wall parts being joined to the lower face of saidmounting plate with the spacing between said retainer bottom wall andsaid mounting plate lower face exceeding the thickness of said bolthead.

3. A combination anchor and support for securing a mobile home orsimilar structure to an underlying foundation comprising a housinghaving a base and a top wall spaced from said base, said base includingmeans for attaching said housing to said foundation, said housing topwall having an internally threaded opening therein, an adjustment bolthaving a head and threaded shank, said bolt and housing being connectedby having said bolt shank threaded into said top wall opening with saidbolt head located above said housing top wall, said bolt including meanswherein the bolt can be rotated relative to said housing for causinglongitudinal movement of said bolt and a variation in spacing betweensaid bolt head and said housing top wall, mounting means carried by saidbolt head, means associated with said bolt head and mounting meansconnecting said mounting means to said bolt and permitting rotation ofsaid bolt relative to said mounting means, and anchoring means forconnecting said mounting means to said mobile home, said mounting meansbeing a horizontal plate and having opposite side margins, one of saidside margins having two vertical holes formed therein, the other of saidside margins having two vertical holes formed therein, said anchoringmeans constituting a pair of angle members each including two adjoiningflange parts having an included angle of approximately degreestherebetween, each flange part of one of said angle members having twoholes formed therein with the same center-to-center distance as thevertical holes in said one plate side margin, each flange part of theother of said angle members having two holes formed therein with thesame center-to-center distance as the vertical holes in said other plateside margin, said angle members having one operative position in which aflange part of said one angle member rests upon said one plate sidemargin with the respective holes therein in registry and a flange partof the other angle member rests upon said other plate side margln withthe respective holes therein in registry and with the remaining flangeparts of said flange members projecting upwardly from said plate in aconfronting relationship for receiving a frame part of said mobile hometherebetween, said angle members having a second operative position inwhich a flange part of said one angle member spacedly overlies said oneplate side margin with the respective holes therein in registry and aflange part of the other angle member spacedly overlies the other plateside margin with the respective holes therein in registry foraccommodating a frame part of said mobile home having portionspositioned between said spaced flange parts and said plate in a clampfit, the remaining flange parts of said angle members when said anglemembers are in said second operative position extending downwardly overopposite side margins of said plate and below the upper surface of saidplate, and means passing through said registering holes for securingsaid angle members to said plate in either of said operative positionsof the angle members.

1. A combination anchor and support for securing a mobile home orsimilar structure to an underlying foundation comprising a housinghaving a base and a top wall spaced from said base, said base includingmeans for attaching said housing to said foundation, said housing topwall having an internally threaded opening therein, an adjustment bolthaving a head and threaded shank, said bolt and housing being connectedby having said bolt shank threaded into said top wall opening with saidbolt head located above said housing top wall, said bolt including meanswherein the bolt can be rotated relative to said housing for causinglongitudinal movement of said bolt and a variation in spacing betweensaid bolt head and said housing top wall, mounting means carried by saidbolt head, means associated with said bolt head and mounting meansconnecting said mounting means to said bolt and permitting rotation ofsaid bolt relative to said mounting means, and anchoring means forconnecting said mounting means to said mobile home, said mounting meansbeing a plate which rests upon the head of said bolt when said anchorand support carries the weight of said mobile home, said means forconnecting said mounting means to said bolt including a retainer havinga bottom wall with an opening therein through which said bolt shankextends with clearance and upwardly extending opposed side wall partsjoined to the lower face of said plate and spaced apart a greaterdistance than the maximum transverse dimension of said bolt head, saidbolt head located between said retainer side wall parts with the spacingbetween said retainer bottom wall and said plate lower face exceedingthe maximum thickness of said bolt head as measured between the boltshank and top of the bolt head.
 1. A combination anchor and support forsecuring a mobile home or similar structure to an underlying foundationcomprising a housing having a base and a top wall spaced from said base,said base including means for attaching said housing to said foundation,said housing top wall having an internally threaded opening therein, anadjustment bolt having a head and threaded shank, said bolt and housingbeing connected by having said bolt shank threaded into said top wallopening with said bolt head located above said housing top wall, saidbolt including means wherein the bolt can be rotated relative to saidhousing for causing longitudinal movement of said bolt and a variationin spacing between said bolt head and said housing top wall, mountingmeans carried by said bolt head, means associated with said bolt headand mounting means connecting said mounting means to said bolt andpermitting rotation of said bolt relative to said mounting means, andanchoring means for connecting said mounting means to said mobile home,said mounting means being a plate which rests upon the head of said boltwhen said anchor and support carries the weight of said mobile home,said means for connecting said mounting means to said bolt including aretainer having a bottom wall with an opening therein through which saidbolt shank extends with clearance and upwardly extending opposed sidewall parts joined to the lower face of said plate and spaced apart agreater distance than the maximum transverse dimension of said bolthead, said bolt head located between said retainer side wall parts withthe spacing between said retainer bottom wall and said plate lower faceexceeding the maximum thickness of said bolt head as measured betweenthe bolt shank and top of the bolt head.
 2. A combination anchor andsupport securing a mobile home or similar structure to an underlyingfoundation comprising a housing having a base and a top wall spaced fromsaid base, said underlying foundation constituting soil, a footingdisposed within said soil and including anchor parts, said housing baseresting upon said footing with said anchor parts engaging said base andconnecting said housing to said footing, said housing top wall having aninternally threaded opening therein, an adjustment bolt having a headand a threaded shank, said bolt having its shank threaded into saidhousing top wall opening, said bolt head located above said housing topwall, said bolt including means wherein said bolt can be rotated withinsaid housing top wall opening to cause longitudinal movement of the boltrelative to the housing and a resulting variation in spacing betweensaid bolt head and said housing top wall, a mounting plate carried bysaid bolt head, means associated with said bolt head and mounting plateconnecting said plate to said bolt and permitting rotation of said boltrelative to said plate, said mobile home including a frame member, saidframe member resting upon said mounting plate, and means securing saidframe member to said mounting plate, said mounting plate resting uponthe head of said bolt, said means for connecting said mounting plate tosaid bolt including a retainer having a bottom wall with an openingtherein through which said bolt shank extends with clearance andupwardly extending opposed side wall parts spaced apart a greaterdistance than the maximum transverse dimension of said bolt head, saidbolt head located between said side wall parts, said side wall partsbeing joined to the lower face of said mounting plate with the spacingbetween said rEtainer bottom wall and said mounting plate lower faceexceeding the thickness of said bolt head.